temporary stay of digital nomads
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | privremeni boravak u svrhu boravka digitalnih nomada as of 2025-03-07[5][7] The Act's and the regulation's own term (art. 61(1) third indent; regulation art. 2(3)). |
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| Official name (English) | temporary stay of digital nomads as of 2026-08-15[1] The Ministry's own English page title. |
| Legal basis | Zakon o strancima (NN 133/20, 114/22, 151/22, 40/25, 55/26), čl. 57. st. 1. (svrha boravka digitalnih nomada), st. 4. i čl. 61. st. 1. podstavak 3.; Uredba o načinu izračuna i visini sredstava za uzdržavanje (NN 14/21, 3/26), čl. 2. st. 3. as of 2025-03-07[5][7] The digital-nomad purpose is point 11 of art. 57(1). NN 133/2020 enumerates eleven purposes and lists “boravka digitalnih nomada” last; NN 40/2025 substituted point 8 in place and added a twelfth point after point 11, so nothing before it was renumbered. Art. 63(4) as substituted by NN 40/2025 places “u druge svrhe” at point 10, immediately before it. The Ministry's English enumeration shows one number lower throughout because it merges the Act's second and third purposes into a single entry. Arts. 57(4) and 61(1) are unaffected. |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-15[1] Granted as temporary stay; the holder obtains a biometric residence permit, and a visa-required national additionally obtains a long-stay D visa to enter. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-15[1] The Ministry's definition: 'A DIGITAL NOMAD IS a third-country national (this means a non EU/EEA/Swiss citizen)'. |
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| Minimum age | Not established from a qualifying source No minimum age is stated for this route in the sources retrieved. |
| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2026-08-15[1] Proof of no conviction for criminal offences from the home country, or a country of residence of more than one year immediately before arrival, legalised. The Ministry states expressly that it need not be produced again with an application to extend. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 18 months as of 2025-03-07[1][7] Art. 61(1) third indent as substituted by NN 40/2025: temporary stay for the purpose of the stay of digital nomads is granted for a term of validity of up to 18 months, within which it may be extended once. The Ministry says the same: 'Temporary stay is granted for up to a maximum of eighteen months (possibly even less).' |
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| Renewable | Yes as of 2025-03-07[1][7] Once only, and only inside the 18-month ceiling. The Ministry: where the stay was granted for less than 18 months, an application to extend may be lodged not later than 60 days before expiry and the extension is granted for at most six months. |
| Renewal duration | up to 6 months as of 2026-08-15[1] 'In that case, the extension shall be granted for the maximum of 6 months.' |
| Maximum total duration | up to 18 months as of 2025-03-07[1][7] The 18 months is a ceiling on the whole stay, first grant plus the single extension. A new digital-nomad application may be lodged only after six months have passed since the expiry of a previous digital-nomad stay, a stay for other purposes, or a family-reunification or life-partnership stay with a digital nomad (art. 57(4) as substituted by NN 40/2025). |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-08-15[1] The route exists for work performed through communication technology for a company, or the holder's own company, that is not registered in Croatia. The definition itself excludes performing work or providing services to employers in Croatia, so the permit carries no local work right at all. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source |
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Requirements
| Minimum income | 2.50 × average monthly net paid salary, previous year per month as of 2021-02-12[1][5] |
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| Qualifying income basis | employment abroad, own company abroad, freelance work for foreign clients as of 2026-08-15[1] Proof of purpose is an employment contract or service contract with a foreign employer, or the registration of the applicant's own company with the tax authority or commercial court plus proof that the work is performed through it, together with a statement that the work is performed through communication technology. |
| Local work allowed | No as of 2026-08-15[1] The definition of a digital nomad requires that the person 'does not perform work or provide services to employers in the Republic of Croatia'. |
| Minimum remote-working history | Not established from a qualifying source No minimum period for which the remote arrangement must have existed is stated. Payslips for at least six months are one of three alternative ways to prove means, not a tenure condition: a bank statement showing the whole amount for the intended stay, or one showing regular income at the required monthly level, are the other two. |
| Route carries its own tax regime | Not established from a qualifying source |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-15[1] Three channels: an online application on the Ministry's digital-nomad portal, in person at a Croatian diplomatic mission or consular post, or in person at the police administration or station of the intended place of stay for a national who does not need a visa and is lawfully in Croatia. A visa-required national who lodges at a police administration has the application rejected. An application to extend is lodged in person at the police administration, not later than 60 days before expiry. |
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| Statutory processing time | Not established from a qualifying source No statutory decision period is stated on the Ministry's page and none was found in the retrievable parts of the Act. |
| Fees |
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| Quota |
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Physical presence
| registration only | to keep the permit as of 2026-08-15[1] The address of temporary residence must be registered at the police administration within three days of entering Croatia, and within 30 days of the start of validity of the granted stay – or six months from the start of validity where a long-stay D visa was required – failing which the stay is revoked. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-08-15[1][2] Close family members of a digital nomad who has been granted temporary stay may join them, through temporary stay for family reunification. Applications lodged before the digital nomad has been granted the stay are rejected. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, unmarried partner, minor child as of 2026-08-15[1][6] Art. 64(1) applies. The Ministry singles out common-law partners: couples who have been together for longer than three years where there is no child, and for a shorter period where they have a child together or have married. |
| Family may apply at the same time | No as of 2026-08-15[1] 'The applications of close family members … submitted before the third country national with whom family reunification is requested … has been granted temporary stay for the purpose of stay of digital nomads shall be rejected.' |
| Family members' work rights | authorisation required as of 2026-08-15[4] Art. 89(1) does not list family reunification with a digital nomad among the categories that may work without a stay and work permit or a work registration certificate, so a joining family member who wants to work needs their own authorisation. |
| Additional means per family member |
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Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 7 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 7 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2021-02-12 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-15 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-22 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Temporary stay of digital nomads
Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-15 · Archived copy - [2] Temporary stay for the purpose of family reunification
Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-15 - [3] Temporary stay of third-country nationals
Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia (MUP) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-15 · Archived copy - [4] Work of third-country nationals
Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia (MUP) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-15 · Archived copy - [5] Uredba o načinu izračuna i visini sredstava za uzdržavanje državljanina treće zemlje u Republici Hrvatskoj, NN 14/2021
Narodne novine · Vlada Republike Hrvatske · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2021-02-12 · Accessed 2026-08-15 · Archived copy · Amended by hr-uredba-uzdrzavanje-3-26 - [6] Zakon o strancima (Aliens Act), NN 133/2020
Narodne novine (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia) / Hrvatski sabor · gazette · Tier 1 · Published 2020-12-04 · Accessed 2026-08-15 · Amended by hr-zakon-o-strancima-114-22, hr-zakon-o-strancima-40-25, hr-zakon-o-strancima-55-26 - [7] Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o strancima, NN 40/2025
Narodne novine / Hrvatski sabor · gazette · Tier 1 · Published 2025-03-07 · Accessed 2026-08-15